This course surveys the history of Mexico from the earliest human inhabitation to the present. It will present different interpretations of the major themes and developments in Mexican history. A goal is
to understand Mexico from the perspective of the Mexicans rather than from the point of view of the United States. It is important to understand, however, that Mexico is not a singular homogenous
entity; there are "many Mexicos." In particular, this course will emphasize the creation of Mexican identities, the role which Indigenous peoples and women have played in that creation, and how that
role has changed over time.

This course also meets the Intercultural Perspectives requirement of the Liberal Studies Program. As such, it will provide you with a greater knowledge and appreciation of cultural diversity through the
study of encounters of Indigenous, European, and African worlds in Mexico. Hopefully this course will make you more aware of how culture has been used for political and social ends, including
confronting racial discrimination, economic exploitation, and social injustice.

Requirements

You are expected and required to attend every class session, and you are responsible for the material covered in the lectures, readings and films, and for any announcements made in class. Unexcused
absences will negatively affect your grade. Please drop me an email note if you are sick or otherwise unable to attend class. If you have a disability or any conflicts which may affect your class
performance, please bring this to my attention immediately so that we can make arrangements for this to be a positive learning experience for you. Please let me know if you have suggestions for
improving the class.

My primary means of communication with you outside of class will be via the CourseInfo (http://cinfo.truman.edu/courses/1/2004102055/) web page. To logon, enter your email id as the user name, and
your social security number as your password (unless you have already changed this password for another class). Once you are logged on, click on "student tools" and then "change your information" to
change your password. If you forget your password, email the administrator (sdare@truman.edu) to reset it for you. Be sure the email address under "student tools" is set to an account that you
regularly read. Please let me know if you need assistance in using these resources.

Readings

The following are the required books for this class. Read the assignments before class so that you are prepared to carry on an intelligent discussion of the material in class. Lectures and discussions will
complement the readings and assume the base level of knowledge which they present, so it is critically important that you keep up with the readings.

Course grades will be based on the following assignments. You can check your grade progress in CourseInfo (there is a total of 1000 possible points in the class). More detailed information on the
written assignments will be posted to the web page. I do not accept "drop and run" papers. Grades on late assignments will be penalized 10% for each day that they are late. Successful completion of all
assignments is required to receive credit for this class.

Discussion board postings: I will post a discussion question for each reading to the discussion board on the CourseInfo web page. I will grade your posting based on your synthesis of the material,
ability to analyze its significance, an evaluation of its importance to the broader themes of this class, and the extent to which you engage other students in a virtual discussion. Respond to this question by
noon on Wednesday, and by noon on Thursday post a critique of one other person's response to the original question. Do not engage in personal attacks, but critique that person's ideas. What are
strong and weak aspects of these ideas? How would you assess these ideas? Each post is worth 10 points (total 260 points).

Cabeza de Vaca. What are the relative strengths and weaknesses of the film Cabeza de Vaca in
portraying the history of the Spanish conquest of the Americas? How would you
improve on this film as a historical document? Is film a valid medium for discussing
historical events? Use the readings from the first three weeks of the semester
and other material as appropriate to support your arguments. The essay must
be typed, double spaced, and include citations, a bibliography, and page numbers.
(Due January 27; 100 points.)

The Alamo. The Alamo is scheduled to be released
to theaters in April. I would like to build a collaborative classroom assignment
around this film (200 pts).

Research paper: Each student is required to write a research
paper on a topic related to Mexican history. The paper must be 10 to 15 pages
long, use a minimum of six scholarly sources (books and journal articles),
be typed, double spaced, and include page numbers, citations and a bibliography.
The format should follow Turabian's A Manual for Writers of Term Papers,
Theses and Dissertations. This project
will be developed in a series of stages. Keep each of these assignments in a
portfolio or folder, and hand in the entire portfolio with each subsequent
assignment. You MUST meet every one of these
deadlines. Failure to do so will result in no credit for the research paper
(20% of the course grade). Please do not even think of testing me on this point..

Feb 3: Library exercise.

Feb 10: Locate and annotate three Internet sites related to the topic of your final project. Post this annotated list of sites in CourseInfo (click on "student tools" and then "edit your home page). More
information on this assignment is posted to the web page.

Feb 24: Research paper proposal, including a paragraph describing your project, the questions you seek to address with the project, a hypothesis of what you expect to find (the thesis statement of your
research paper), and a preliminary bibliography of sources that you plan to use.

March 2: As part of your research paper, analyze one of the major sources you will use in the writing of this paper. This paper should be typed, double-spaced, probably about 3-pages long, and include
citations and a bibliography (40 pts).

March 16: Hand in an annotated bibliography which explores the strengths and weaknesses of each source that you plan to use in writing your research paper and its value in relation to your research.
Expand and include this annotated bibliography as the bibliography for your paper.

April 13: Peer review of research papers. Read and comment on another student's paper via TurnItIn (http://www.turnitin.com). New users should click on the "Create a user profile" link near the top
right corner of the page, and follow the subsequent instructions. As you work your way through those directions, you will need to use this class's ID (1110494) and enrollment password (zapata).
Please finish reviewing the paper by April 15.

April 27-29: Oral presentations. In your presentation, tell us what questions you addressed in your research project, what you expected to find (your thesis), a summary of your actual findings, and your
conclusions. Please feel free to include visuals and other materials in your presentation. More information on evaluation criteria for these presentations is on the class web page.

May 4: Final research papers due. When handing in your final draft, please be sure to include copies of all of the previous assignments including the peer-reviewed draft.